James Gayle gets long-awaited chance to work out at NFL combine

Norm Wood, nwood@dailypress.com

After his sophomore year at Virginia Tech, James Gayle started seeing players he'd either competed with or against in college participate in the NFL scouting combine. He couldn't wait to get to the combine to see how his skills compared.

No more waiting for Gayle. He's in Indianapolis this weekend getting measured, poked and prodded by NFL team representatives and doctors ahead of his combine workouts and interviews, which begin Monday.

"I've been looking forward to it for a couple years because I feel like I can showcase my abilities," said Gayle, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound former defensive end at Tech and Bethel High.

"I wouldn't say I'm really nervous. I just know I have to be prepared and think about everything from what I have to say to the coaches to what I have to do at the combine. I'm pretty much as prepared as you can get at this point."

Gayle will be joined among the more than 300 participants in the combine by quarterback Logan Thomas and cornerbacks Antone Exum and Kyle Fuller — all of whom were teammates of Gayle's at Tech. Former Virginia players headed to the combine are offensive tackle Morgan Moses and defensive lineman Brent Urban.

Moses is considered a possible first- or second-round pick by nfldraftscout.com. ESPN's Todd McShay has Moses listed as the 29th best prospect entering the combine.

Fuller is projected to be a possible second-round pick by nfldraftscout.com, while the website considers Exum a possible fourth- or fifth-round pick and Thomas a seventh-round pick or free-agent signee. Gayle is looked upon by the website as a potential fifth-round selection, while Urban is seen as fifth or sixth round material.

Fuller and Exum will have to show at the combine they've overcome injuries. Fuller missed four of Tech's past five games last season after having core muscle surgery in November as a result of a groin injury.

Exum had right knee surgery last February to repair two torn ligaments, a torn lateral meniscus and a bone fracture. After playing in just three games this past season, he suffered a sprained left ankle in November that kept him out of Tech's last three games.

Gayle comes into the weekend feeling 100 percent healthy after working out for nearly seven weeks in Kissimmee, Fla., with noted speed and training specialist Tom Shaw, a former strength and conditioning coach with the New England Patriots. Gayle said he'll head back to Florida to continue working with Shaw until March 6 in preparation for Tech's pro day March 19.

Though he spent his entire college career at defensive end, Gayle said he's gotten enough feedback to know he's getting looks by NFL teams at both end in 4-3 defensive schemes and outside linebacker in 3-4 alignments.

"I definitely feel like I'm fast enough to play outside linebacker," Gayle said. "The speed is not a problem. I feel like I can transition to that position. I just have to work at it."

Gayle, whose agent is Joel Segal, plans to participate in the full workout at the combine. Players at the combine participate in drills that include 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill and shuttle run workouts.

In terms of position-specific drills, Gayle could go through drills such as rip and swim techniques that are specific to defensive linemen, or pass-drop and hip rotation drills that are unique to linebackers at the combine. One of the important aspects of the combine for Gayle may be showing he can go from having his hand on the ground as an end to standing up as a linebacker.

Gayle said he's consulted with Chris Ellis, who is also a former Tech and Bethel defensive end, about what to expect at the combine. Ellis participated in the '08 combine before being selected in the third round of the '08 draft by the Buffalo Bills.

Despite admitting he feels like he came up a little short in his Tech career in sacks by never reaching double digits in a season in the category, Gayle believes he made a favorable impression by being a second- or third-team All-ACC selection by the media or coaches in each of his last three seasons as a starter.

"I feel like my film speaks to the kind of player I am," Gayle, who had 22 sacks and 40 1/2 tackles for loss in his Tech career. "I feel like I've gotten nothing but good reviews from the coaching staff at Virginia Tech. Anything NFL teams want to know about me, they probably already know."